DOE orders restoration of electricity in 7 Lanao towns

COTABATO CITY – The Department of Energy (DOE) has ordered the immediate restoration of electricity in seven Lanao del Sur towns through the intercession of Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol.

In his Facebook post Saturday, Piñol said DOE Secretary Alfonso Cusi issued the order Friday after meeting with the mayors and representatives of Malabang, Picong, Balabagan, Kapatagan, Calanogas, Pagayawan and Marogong, all of Lanao del Sur.

“Sec. Cusi cut short an engagement in the Bicol Region… to meet with mayors and representatives of (concerned) towns who flew to Manila on Thursday to air their complaints on the failure of the government to deliver electric power to (their communities),” Piñol said.

Lanao del Sur, which has 39 towns with Marawi City as its capital seat, is the main service area of the Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative (LASURECO), which the agriculture chief described as “corruption-wracked.”

“The mayors were unanimous in their position to get out of the control of LASURECO which owes the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines an estimated R10 billion in unpaid power bills,” Piñol said.

Piñol said he discovered the absence of electricity in the seven towns when he visited Malabang town on Thursday to award resident fishermen fiberglass boats given by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR).

At a forum in Malabang town, Piñol said, he proposed the establishment of an ice plant in the area to preserve fish and other marine products.